The New Directions sing this song in the McKinley auditorium to show their unity as a group while Will watches them from afar with a gleeful smile on his face. Little do they know, Puck, Sue, Quinn, and Santana are also watching them.

It is one of the show's most prominent songs during Season One and has become the show's anthem, and has later on been reprised multiple times in the show.

Contents

Lyrics

Finn:
Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Rachel:
Just a city boy
Born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Finn:
A singer in a smoky room

Rachel:
A smell of wine and cheap perfume

Finn and Rachel:
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Rachel:
Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill

Finn and Rachel:
Payin' anything to roll the dice just one more time

Rachel:
Some will win

Finn and Rachel:
Some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Finn and Rachel with New Directions:
Don't stop believin'
(Finn and Rachel: Hold on to that feelin')
Streetlight people
Don't stop believin'
(Finn and Rachel: Hold on to that feelin')
Streetlight people
Don't stop!

Trivia

This is the first released song by the New Directions. It is also the first released duet of the series.

On that note of being the first duet, it is also Finn and Rachel's first duet. While the rest provide background vocals.

The gang, after shooting their coverage, were behaving so terribly that they got yelled at for the first time. Source

This version of the song was both the first and the last song revealed to be on the show.

The song has sold over 1,422,000 digital downloads in the US, making it the largest-selling Glee song of all time.

It also debuted and peaked at #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the most successful Glee song of all time.

Errors

When Rachel sings the line "He took the midnight train going anywhere" and lifts her arm up, her palm is facing downward; in the next shot, her palm is facing sideways.

During the performance,when Mercedes, Kurt, and Tina approach the microphones, they are in the order (from left to right) Tina, Mercedes, and Kurt. Later when the scene changes the order changes to (from left to right) Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina.

During the performance, as Finn finishes playing the drums, he stands up and hands the drumsticks to the drummer, but we still hear the drums while there is clearly no one playing.

During the performance, Will can be seen watching the performance from afar but in the next few seconds, Will is seen entering the auditorium again.